Mumsnet Talk

Have been to visit friends who live there a few times and fallen in love with the place - so much more lively and vibrant than where we live at the moment. Am a bit of a lentil weaver at heart, and felt right at home there straight away. Already have a couple of friends who live there, so it wouldn't be as daunting as moving somewhere entirely new where we didn't know anyone.

I'm up for relocating - the schools are rubbish where we live and we've talked before about moving away from here. DH needs a bit more convincing though. So... a few questions for you lovely Brighton MNers if you wouldn't mind:

- is there much to do there with pre-schoolers? We have a 19 month old DD and are hoping to have another DC in the next couple of years.

- what are your favourite things about living in Brighton? Would you recommend it?

- what are the primary schools like? Would you recommend your DC(s) school?

- do you reckon we have any chance of finding somewhere affordable to live (3 beds, garden (doesn't have to be big, I know this can be hard to find in Brighton), up to £250k) which is fairly central and near good schools? Or am I dreaming and need Kirsty Allsop to slap me around the head?!

I'd really appreciate people's input (and would love to come out on a Brighton MN night out!) - please tell me the good, the bad and the ugly!

Bump

hi, i grew up on the south coast but moved away for years but we moved down to brighton just under a year ago. we love it here and you will find that it is a place which attracts lots of people from out of the area which must mean there is something about it. i am sure some people will disagree but i do sometimes think there are elements which make it at times a little bit up its own backside and there is a seedy aspect to parts of it but we are so pleased that we moved here (we moved from a narrow minded small town which was great for young kids but dull, dull, dull).

for a city with lots going on it is a really manageable size, loads going on for kids, you have the sea one side and the countryside the other and it is easy to get around and to get out of.

the main problem is the cost. your budget would be limiting to be honest. we are renting in fiveways which is probably the most popular place for families in brighton but are looking at moving to a more suburban area of hove as it is so expensive in fiveways and the gardens are generally pretty small. you wouldn't get what you want with your budge in fiveways i'm afraid although the other side of the ditchling road is a lot cheaper and you would be able to afford a house and garden there. it depends how fussy you are about living in an ex-council house or how posh an area you want to be in! if you moved a bit further out, to portslade, patcham or southwick you could get a nice house and still be within easy reach of the city.

the schools are a complete nightmare around here. some of the best infant schools are so popular that you have to live within 800 metres of them. some areas have no local school adn there are little kids in hove who have to travel 3 miles across town to go to school. last year there were 5000 kids for 4000 places in the schools although the situation might calm down a bit in the next few years. don't let this put you off as if you plan ahead you can make sure you buy somewhere close enough to a school to make sure you kids got in. but just bear it in mind and plan for it and look into the school situation when you are looking at houses. mine aren't at school yet but there are really good schools and not so good schools as with all places. the problem is that, as with most cities, you pay a premium to live close enough to the good schools to get in which makes a supposedly free education system a bit of a joke really as only the wealthier people can live close enough to the best schools! sorry, rant over - the school catchment issue is the current big bee in my bonnet!

but brighton and hove is a lovely place to live and as i say, we are really pleased we took the big decision to move from hundreds of miles away and don't regret it at all!

Hi. Brighton is great - seriously up it's own arse - but nevertheless, a perfect mixture of compact, lively city, beautiful countryside on your doorstep and the endless sea.

I have heard people who have moved down from London complain about the relative lack of stuff going on, lack of cultural diversity, limited job market and cliquey groups, but moving to a new place will always have downs as well as ups. Having friends here already is a really good start.

- I'm sure you will find a house with 3 beds for the £250k mark somewhere nice with good schools. Look around the Queens Park/Hanover area. Small gardens but child-friendly area with choice of St Lukes Primary, Elm Grove and Queens Park School, all good. I am sure there are other schools that are good too but these are the sort of ones that the middle class parents obsess about. The two fave Brighton secondaries (Dorothy Stringer/Varndean) are fed into from Hanover if you are thinking ahead. Again, these are schools that the middle classes get their knickers in a complete twist about. Try Wheelers Estate Agents in Islingword St., or get Wheelers postcode and Rightmove half a mile from there. Takes about 20 mins to walk to the sea from Hanover, but seriously hilly. Classic seaside victorian terraces. Parking a bit of a fucker but not impossible.

'The dip' in Hollingdean is much more reasonably priced than nearby Fiveways which is so loved by the Yummies. It's much more down to earth and I really like it but it isn't as pretty. Lots of 30's and 40's terraces and semi's and bigger gardens. Popular schools are Downs Infants and Balfour. Hertford infants seems a lovely little school. Again, this area feeds into the popular secondaries. Very popular nursery at the SureStart centre. David & David estate agents are in Fiveways. Again, Rightmove 0.5 miles from their postcode.

Haven't got a clue about Hove! Good luck, it's such a great place to bring up kids.

hanover is nice but the houses are small.I have lived everywhere renovating property and now would only really live at 5ways (my son at fab school) or preston park or seven dials.have lived at hollingdean too and it is ok but not as nice as the other side of ditchling road.Schools are great if you can get in and lovely parks etc.having said all that I would go back to London in a flash but ds and dp won't

With a budget of £250 maximum, you are limited to less bijou areas. You will be highly unlikely to get anything for that in 5ways/Preston Park unless it's a flat. Don't know about 7 dials. Hanover is compact but near a lovely big park - Queens Park - which acts as a kind of shared garden for the locals. Again, one of the few central, very pleasant areas that is affordable on your budget.

Falmer is the most unpopular secondary in Brighton by the way. Brighton is horribly divided on class lines, which is at it's most ugly when it comes to fights to get into secondary schools.

I'm not sure Rachel is right about the number of kids to primary school places - certainly not at infant school level anyway.

It's not a London or Bristol scenario where kids are left without school places or are being taught in church halls.

There ARE enough places overall in the city, but because catchments for popular schools are so small, some children are missing out and have been sent to unpopular schools several miles away. But they will all get a p place somewhere

Wow, thanks for all the replies - been away for the weekend and just logged on again. V interesting to hear other people's points of view.

Have some friends who live in Hanover, wasn't sure if we could afford it, but do love the area. Their DD goes to Dorothy Stringer, which I've heard good things about, so would be fab to live near them and also with the possibility of our DD going there in the dim and distant future!Hollingdean sounds good too. Been having a read of some of the other threads on local, and am encouraged by the one about Roundhill.

Is Fiveways really so yummy mummy? Don't think I'd fit in very well if so! Mind you, I doubt we could afford it on our poxy public sector wages!

A bit surprised about the class division thing - is it bad? That's one of the things I dislike about where we are now - vast number of very wealthy people who all send their kids to the many, many private schools and are so far up their own arses in their 4x4s, who populate the prettier areas of the city, then some enormous sprawling not-very-pretty council estates with dire schools. Not much middle ground to be had round here. Tell me Brighton isn't that bad please!!

Hi Tarka. No, Brighton is certainly not that bad. We don't have quite so many 4x4's or parents sending their kids to private schools and no grammar schools. At least 3 sprawling council estates but still a mixed population there. I have lived in far worse places!

If you are a lentil weaver, Hanover is your natural home. It is also known as 'The Muesli Mountain' or 'The Carer's Quadrant', after all! Very popular with young kids, but also a lot of buy-to-let student houses, some of them noisy. Two years ago, there was no chance you'd get a house there for £250k but there were lots last time I looked.

Just do it!

I've been here a month and am so pleased we made the move. I am in Fiveways and am definitely not a yummy mummy (I feel like I've accomplished something if I've brushed my hair in the morning!) but I think the area is a bit middle class and the houses aren't cheap. It is lovely though and close to some nice parks, plus it's just a short drive to the downs

Tarka where are you moving from?

Hi Tarka

I am sure you would really like it in B & H, you could do what we did and rent for a bit to make sure you like it before taking the plunge and buying. I do think it is a pretty middle class and also very white place, well compared to places I have lived before anyway so just don't move thinking it is some utopia for guardian readers (tho maybe the fact it is white and middle class means that it is ;) ).

People told me that all the mums in Hove were "yummy mummies" and unbearable but I haven't found that to be the case at all. To be honest, the Hove mums I have met have tended to be more relaxed about the whole schools thing than mums in Fiveways (and I am not excluding myself from that by the way!) and you are going to get a certain type of mum in all parts of the city so ignore any stereotypes people tell you and move to the area you like most and can afford. I'm very definitely not a yummy mummy and I have really enjoyed living in Fiveways and met some lovely people as well as some stuck up people and I am sure I will find the same thing if we end up moving to Hove.

As for the private school thing, there are lots of people in Brighton who send their kids to private school and there are quite a few private schools. Same with any city I would have thought? Some of the parents are very rich but there are also a lot of people who aren't but who sacrifice a lot, have "normal" jobs and who have chosen to live in a cheaper area and have fewer holidays etc and spend any spare money on sending their kids to school. Other people have spent their money on living in a more expensive area so their kids can get into a good local state school and that is the decision they have made. Or there are people who rent out their houses which aren't in a catchment area for a good school, then rent themselves temporarily in a better catchment area and then move back to their proper house once their children are in the good school! Either way there are a lot of people in B & H who use their money to get a good education for their kids be it by paying directly or buying into an area with good schools. I don't think anyone in either group should be criticised more than the other to be honest, everyone just wants the best for their children after all.

Like DonkeyDerby says - just do it and give it a go if you are unhappy where you are currently living. I'm sure you will love it and relocating to any place has its ups and downs.

Ooh, Muesli Mountain sounds like it could be my spiritual home!

Migola - we'd be moving from Oxford. Fantastic place to live when you're a student, but it's been quite a few years now since I graduated. Whenever we go out everywhere is full of students, and it makes me feel old (and I'm only 32!). Most of our old uni friends have moved away over the past few years, and at some point, not sure when, it's stopped feeling so much like home. I know all cities have their problems, but the thought of living closer to good friends (and the beach) is appealing, and I love the feel of Brighton. Yes, lots of students and tourists, just like Oxford, but Brighton's quite a lot bigger, so they're diluted a bit!!

Thanks so much for all the advice, it's good to hear other people's perspectives. Now, who wants to find me a job?

Have you tried The Argus?

Cheers donkeyderby - have been looking lots online, will google the Argus (assuming that's the local paper?) too. Although have found four jobs online to apply for today, 'citing!

here

is another useful link for you.

Come and join us down here, tis the best place ever!!!

Our local rag

the Argus

i'm up for getting pissed a genteel wine tasting in brighton

Me too Custy, me too

<<says in a heartfelt manner>>

and i must mention that whilst brighton is lovely cosmopolitan groovy hippy yummy mummy and fabtastic in general...if you find your money can't stretch to a nice pad, then don;t forget the smaller towns just outside.

Thanks for the links Pesto - the one for The Latest looks brilliant, will trawl through that later after lots of a glass of wine. I shall look forward to that genteel soiree Custy, sounds spiffing

Which towns outside Brighton would you recommend Custy? I found a gorgeous house in Shoreham, but have no idea what it's like there...

custy my parents are moving your way!

someparts of shoreham are very up and coming and yuppiefied. don't know about schools in shoreham.

i live in worthing - i think its larvely, there are some bad parts - however i am not a worthingite as i come from oop north - so the indinginous southern population might give you a better idea of the pecking order of the surounding towns.

there you go - if noddy;s paretns are moving here tiz the place to be

wait til you bump into her you'll think differnet!